9+ Best Food Dehydrator for Herbs | Unrivaled Guide 2023

The history of herb drying is simple: it was necessary to keep culinary ingredients fresh before winter arrived. In dry regions, it is sufficient to hang the herbs upside down in a window or under the ground. In wetter regions, this task is more difficult, as moisture can cause mold to develop and ruin the harvest.

Drying harvested herbs is a time-consuming process, regardless of natural conditions. With a food dehydrator, this task can often be accomplished in a few hours. To find the Best Food Dehydrator for Herbs, you must first consider the overall amount and frequency of dehydration.

Best Food Dehydrator for Herbs

There are a variety of “dehydrators” on the market, some of which are just grills that allow herbs to dry naturally while avoiding insect infestation. In this review, we will focus on electric dehydrators that dry herbs by fan or convection.

The two main food dehydrators used for herbs are

• Stackable
• Boxes and shelves

Stackable dehydrators

This model is economical and easy to use. They have a fan at the bottom of the unit that blows air upward through the herbs in the stacked trays. The number of layers of herbs to be dehydrated can be customized to your liking.

These machines are cost-effective, but they are not effective for dehydrating large quantities of herbs because the stacked trays must be constantly rotated and the top tray must be brought closer to the heat. Otherwise, the lower trays will take in all the hot air and dehydrate faster than the other trays, which can cause the leaves in the lower trays to become too dry.

Box and shelf dehydrators

These models are generally more expensive but require less attention during the drying process. The central box has layers of trays that exit through a front access door. A fan at the rear of the unit allows the trays to be aired more evenly than the fan at the bottom of the stacking unit. This allows all tiers to receive the same airflow and dehydrate at the same time.

Best Food Dehydrator for Herbs | Comparison Table 2023

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Best Food Dehydrator for Herbs | Reviews 2023

Product Overview:

The Commercial Chef Food Dehydrator is an outstanding appliance for preserving the original, nuanced flavors of your favorite snacks. It is equipped with 280 watts of power and is designed to remove moisture from food items, making it one of the best dehydrators for food and jerky. The dehydrator measures 9.92” x 9.43” x 7.01” and consists of 5 circular trays, which is enough to hold most food items and create uniform drying.

One of the key features of this food dehydrator is its adjustable thermostat range, which ranges from 104° – 158° F. This allows you to determine your optimal setting and let the jerky maker do all the work for you. The trays in this meat dehydrator are hand wash only, making it easy to clean and store. You can simply situate this food dryer machine for home in your kitchen pantry or cupboard when not in use.

Product Overview:

The National Presto Dehydro Digital Electric Food Dehydrator is a versatile appliance that allows you to dehydrate a variety of foods, including fruits, vegetables, herbs, and spices. This dehydrator is perfect for making healthy snacks like jerky and fruit rolls. The package includes 6 transparent drying trays, 2 fruit roll sheets, and 2 nonstick mesh screens. The digital thermostat allows you to select drying temperatures between 90° and 165°F, while the digital timer can be set up to 48 hours and will shut off automatically when the time is up. This dehydrator is expandable up to 12 trays, with additional trays sold separately.

With this dehydrator, you can easily make jerky from meat, poultry, or seafood. The dehydrator's ability to dry food at a low temperature ensures that the jerky retains its natural flavor and nutrients. The fruit roll sheets that come with the dehydrator make it easy to make fruit rolls from fresh, frozen, or canned fruit.

Product Overview:

The Presto 06301 Dehydro Digital Electric Food Dehydrator is a versatile kitchen appliance that allows you to dehydrate a wide variety of foods at home. The six-tray system is designed to dry foods at a fraction of the cost of commercially dried foods with no additives or preservatives. This makes it an ideal choice for those who are looking to make their own healthy snacks or preserve fruits and vegetables for later use.

One of the key features of this dehydrator is its digital thermostat and timer. This allows you to precisely control the drying time and temperature, so you can achieve the perfect results every time. The temperature range is from 90 to 165 degrees Fahrenheit, so you can dehydrate a wide variety of foods. The bottom-mounted fan and heating element provide consistent air flow for optimum drying, so there's no need to rotate the trays.

Product Overview:

The Excalibur 3926TB Electric Food Dehydrator Machine is a large-capacity dehydrator that comes with 9 Excalibur dehydrator trays, providing a total of 15 square feet of drying space. This makes it an ideal choice for those who need to dehydrate large quantities of food at once.

One of the standout features of this dehydrator is its versatility. It comes with a 26-hour timer and an adjustable thermostat that allows for a wide range of temperatures between 105 and 165 degrees F. This range is low enough to dry fruits and vegetables, but high enough to dehydrate meat. This makes it perfect for those looking to make their own jerky, dried fruit leather, fruit roll-up puree, all-natural pet treats, homemade yogurt, veggies, nuts or even to raise bread.

Product Overview:

The Ivation 9 Tray Countertop Digital Food Dehydrator is a powerful and versatile drying machine that allows you to enjoy homemade, easy, healthy snacks without additives or preservatives at a fraction of the cost of commercially dehydrated foods. This dehydrator is perfect for drying fruit slices, long-lasting dried herbs, delicious beef jerky, and more. It is also an economical way to preserve foods.

The dehydrator features a rear-mounted fan that is designed to promote even drying with optimal airflow without overheating. Additionally, the digital thermostat has eight temperature levels from 95º F to 158º F and an adjustable thermostat with an automatic shutoff timer ensures that foods are dehydrated at their optimal temperature and crispiness.

Product Overview:

The NutriChef PKFD12 is a professional electric food dehydrator machine that is designed to preserve a variety of different foods. This multi-tier kitchen appliance can be used to create nutritious and delicious food with minimal preparation. With this machine, you will never have to worry about food spoiling and going to waste again.

One of the standout features of this dehydrator is its easy access and operation process. The unit is built to make food preparation as simple as possible, with an easy-to-use one-button operation. Simply choose to dehydrate your food with the touch of a button, and you'll be on your way to creating healthy and delicious snacks in no time. Additionally, the dehydrator is equipped with a temperature control system that can reach a maximum of 180°F, allowing you to dehydrate a variety of different foods with precision.

The NutriChef PKFD12 also comes with 5 removable and stackable food trays or dryer trays. These trays can also be used to dry food without the use of the dehydrator, giving you more options for food preservation.

Product Overview:

The Excalibur Food Dehydrator is a 9-tray electric dehydrator that features an adjustable thermostat and accurate temperature control for faster drying. It has a total of 15 square feet of drying space, providing ample room for your favorite snacks. The dehydrator is equipped with patented Hyperwave technology and horizontal parallax drying, which removes water from food with a continuous circulation of thermostatically-controlled warm air.

One of the key features of this dehydrator is that it allows for low and slow drying, which is ideal for preserving nutrients and enzymes in food. The adjustable thermostat can be set between 105 and 165 degrees Fahrenheit, giving you the flexibility to dehydrate different types of food.

Product Overview:

The NESCO FD-1040 Gardenmaster Digital Pro dehydrator is a versatile appliance that allows you to dry a wide range of foods, including jerky and snacks. With 1000 watts of drying power, it provides even heat distribution for consistent drying results. The adjustable thermostat allows you to dry different foods at the proper time and temperature, with a range of 90°F - 160°F. You can easily keep track of the drying process with the digital display and timer.

The dehydrator comes with 4 BPA-free trays, each with 1 sq. ft. of drying area. This means you can dry large quantities of food at once, without the need for tray rotation. The dehydrator is expandable to 20 trays, so you can add more trays as your needs grow. Additional trays are sold separately.

Product Overview:

The COSORI Food Dehydrator is a versatile kitchen appliance designed to make dehydrating food a breeze. Made with food-grade stainless steel and a glass front door, this dehydrator is perfect for making healthy snacks, beef jerky, fruit leathers, dog treats, bread crumbs, yogurt, and preserving herbs and flowers. The dehydrator comes with 6 stainless steel trays, 1 mesh screen, 1 fruit roll sheet, a manual, and 50 recipes designed for beginners by the COSORI Chefs Team.

The digital control panel is user-friendly and allows you to set the timer in 30-minute increments for up to 48 hours. You can make average-sized batches of dried foods with accurate temperatures between 95ºF-165ºF. The dehydrator runs quietly with noise levels of less than 48dB, which is equal to the noise levels recorded in a library. This makes it easy to use the dehydrator at night without disturbing your sleep.

Safety features include an auto shut-off that kicks in when the timer ends and overheats protection that activates if the dehydrator overheats. The 6 trays are dishwasher-safe and tray liners can be washed on the top rack of your dishwasher if you remove them before the drying cycle.

How To Choose The Best Food Dehydrator for Herbs | Ultimate Buying Guide 2023

Process of drying herbs in a dehydrator

Having the right herb dehydrator is only part of the equation. Properly preparing the herbs for drying will maximize your harvest and prepare your dehydrator more efficiently.

Wash and clean the herbs: wipe the leaves with a towel to remove excess moisture that can slow drying.
In a dry environment, 95 to 115 degrees can effectively dehydrate the herbs, but in humid areas, the temperature should be raised to 125 degrees.

Remove leaves from stems: this speeds drying and makes them easier to store.

Arrange herbs in trays, one layer at a time: this will allow adequate air circulation around the leaves.

Be careful with herbs that are new to you or new varieties: if the herbs are wet, they will take longer to dehydrate properly. Most herbs take from one to four hours to dehydrate.

Check readiness: Properly dehydrated herbs will crumble in your fingers when rubbed.

Store dried herbs: Chill herbs and store in jars.

Note:

You can dry more than one type of herb in the same batch. This ensures that the original flavor of the dried herbs remains intact.

Drying herbs and other foods can be fun with the right dehydrator. Consider how each feature fits into your lifestyle.

Temperature Control

The best dehydrators offer temperature control to optimize the drying of different foods. Experts recommend dehydrating beef jerky at 68°C, while herbs are kept at 35°C. Anything above 46°C will definitely cause the herbs to lose their aroma and valuable nutrients.

Models that heat to a single constant temperature are adequate, but not ideal. If the temperature is too low, drying takes longer, the moisture may not be fully released, and the meat may not be able to prevent spoilage. If too high, it may burn tender herbs.

Size and Capacity

Dehydrator capacities are listed in square feet. Smaller machines have 3 to 4 square feet of drying space, while larger machines have 10 square feet or more. 3 to 4 square feet sounds respectable, but if you are drying large quantities, you will quickly run out of space. Leafy herbs should be spaced at least an inch apart so that air can circulate freely around them.

The size of the dehydrator is also an important factor; the larger ones can take up to two square feet of counter space, so measure before you buy. If you plan to store it in a cupboard when not in use, consider its weight as well; models weighing up to 40 pounds are difficult to store.

Tray Material

Trays are available in stainless steel and plastic, most of which are BPA-free. We prefer to use plastic as we find it non-stick and easier to clean.

Accessories

Most dehydrators come with a drip tray that doubles as a fruit leather tray. They also typically come with a mesh screen to hold small items such as blueberries or herbs.

Timer

If herbs are dried too long, they will lose their flavor and become bitter. A dehydrator with a timer can solve this problem by turning off at a set time.

Use and Maintenance

Dehydrators are not rocket science, but some are more intuitive to use than others. These models offer the best of both worlds: functionality and convenience.

Features worth paying extra for include a backlit digital display that is easy to read in dark areas and an auto-shutoff switch that automatically shuts off if the unit overheats. Safety First.

Dishwasher Dehydrator Trays

Maintaining the dehydrator is easy; just keep it clean. Herbs are rich in natural aromatic oils. Wash with soap after use to prevent the plastic trays from absorbing odors. This is especially true if the model is equipped with a dishwasher-safe tray.

Features

Because different types of foods require different drying temperatures, most dehydrators have several settings. If you are only drying a limited number of foods, such as fruit chips and peels, you don't need as many temperature settings, and choosing a model with more restrictive power and temperature ranges will save you money.

Experts are divided on whether a timer is necessary, but most seem to agree that it is better to have one, but not essential.

Drying food requires a learning curve and is not recommended for beginners. Those who are just starting out should check and make sure that what they are processing is ready before taking it out of the machine.

Once you get used to it, we recommend incorporating a timer so that you can set it and it will turn off on its own without you having to worry about it.

Fans

In general, fans and heaters should be mounted on the top or side of the equipment. This will prevent liquids from flowing through the elements and leaving a strong odor. It also makes cleaning easier.

However, some appliances with bottom fans are sealed or have drip trays that are used effectively and can be used in the same manner as other types.

Noise

As a long-time product reviewer, one of my favorite sayings is that "noise is in the ear of the beholder." In other words, a product that most people are unaware of its function can be torture for those with super-sensitive hearing.

So unless I see a lot of comments about the noise level of a particular device or write down our own complaints, I don't consider it an important factor.

Food Safety

The dehydration process removes about 90-95% of the moisture. It is this moisture that "spoils" food, so removing most of the water improves shelf life.

Horizontal top-to-bottom image of spiced apple slices on a plastic tray.
In general, experts say that dehydrated foods can last up to a year before spoiling or losing their nutritional value if properly stored.

It is also important to understand the difference between dehydrated and freeze-dried foods. Most prepackaged foods for backpackers and pre-packagers are freeze-dried, not dehydrated.

Best Food Dehydrator for Herbs | Video Explanation

Frequently Asked Questions

What makes a dehydrator great?

When buying a dehydrator, consider what you will use it for most. If you want to dry everything from herbs to meats, a dehydrator with a wide temperature range will give you more control over the process.

People who regularly do small amounts of dehydrating work may prefer a dehydrator that takes up less space than one that can hold a large amount of food.

If you are someone who works infrequently, you may also want to choose a model that can be easily stored so that it does not take up counter space. Some have boxes or shelves that fold down for storage, which is very convenient for occasional use.

Should I use a stacking model or a box and shelf model?

When used correctly, both stacking and shelving models work equally well. Keep in mind that rotation and control will alter the drying time as the enclosed heat source is opened up while checking and rotating.

After the first few uses, you will be able to understand how the machine works and how long it takes to dehydrate various herbs, fruits, and meats, so you will spend less time monitoring.

Do I need a dehydrator specifically for herbs?

No, you do not need to buy a "herb-specific" dehydrator. Most herbs dehydrate well between 95 and 115 degrees Fahrenheit. This means that you will need some flexibility in temperature settings when choosing a dehydrator specifically for herbs.

Remember that the speed of drying depends on the moisture content in the herbs. The first batch should be monitored to ascertain the best temperature for the type of herb and the natural environmental conditions in which the herb was grown. In drier environments, herbs with less natural moisture may be used.

Conclusion

Best Food Dehydrator for Herbs can save money and add delicious herbs to your food and cooking. A dehydrator eliminates the need to dry herbs naturally. With a dehydrator, the moisture in the herbs is removed by heat and everything is done in a clean and sanitary environment, resulting in higher-quality drying. After the herbs are dried, they can be crushed and stored as desired.

The beauty of the dehydrator is that most types of herbs can be dried in a very short time compared to natural drying. If you have a large stock of herbs, it is really convenient to use a dehydrator to dry your herbs and store them for use at any time. Just store your herbs and use them when you need them.

Also, feel free to leave comments with questions or requests for this site. Enjoy your shopping experience.

Jennifer Lawrence

Hi, I’m Jennifer Lawrence, Went to Calhoun High School (Georgia) my goal is to make the kitchen fun by providing a mathematical and logical component to our approach to cooking good food. I look not only at delicious recipes but also at kitchen tools and gadgets to give you the tips and tricks we hope you will find useful. Read More Here